San Antonio Area Pharmaceutical Sales Representative Pleads Guilty for Her Role in $8 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme

In San Antonio this morning, 45-year-old former pharmaceutical representative Holly Blakely, of San Antonio, TX, pleaded guilty for her role in an $8 million health care fraud scheme that netted her over $1 million, announced U.S. Attorney John Bash and FBI Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs, San Antonio Division.

Appearing before Senior U.S. District Judge Fred Biery, Blakely pleaded guilty to one conspiracy to commit wire fraud, health care fraud, bribery, and paying kickbacks.  Blakely faces up to five years in federal prison.  She remains on bond pending sentencing scheduled for June 13, 2019, in San Antonio.  Blakely was charged in a thirty-count indictment and had been scheduled to begin trial February 25, 2019.

As part of her plea, Blakely admitted her role in a scheme to defraud health care benefit programs by paying over $400,000 in kickbacks and bribes to health care providers that prescribed compounded medications to individuals who did not need the medications. Blakely and her co-conspirators attempted to disguise the kickbacks and bribes to health care professionals by writing fictitious and back-dated “consulting agreements.” In many instances, Blakely and her co-conspirators submitted prescriptions to compounding pharmacies for patients that had never seen a medical professional.  Moreover, Blakely and her co-conspirators would occasionally forge the signature of a medical professional on prescriptions.  Blakely admitted that she conspired with two compounding pharmacies that would submit claims for reimbursement to health care benefit programs, including TRICARE, for compounded medications based on the prescriptions.  In exchange for her role in the conspiracy, the two compounding pharmacies paid Blakely approximately $1,147,885.14.  From approximately February 2013 through December 2014, health care benefit programs reimbursed the two compounding pharmacies approximately $8,846,972.24 based on the claims submitted in connection with the compounded medications.

The FBI, together with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration--Diversion, U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command, Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Office of Personnel Management—Office of Inspector General, investigated this case.  Assistant United States Attorneys Sean Bryan O’Connell and Antonio Franco, Jr., are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.